Shaheen: U.S. must keep promises to interpreters

PORTSMOUTH — With the National Visa Center as a backdrop, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Tuesday said Iraqis and Afghans who risked their lives to work for Americans deserve a chance to begin again in the United States.

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By Deborah McDermott

seacoastonline.com

By Deborah McDermott

Posted Dec. 4, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Deborah McDermott
Posted Dec. 4, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

PORTSMOUTH — With the National Visa Center as a backdrop, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Tuesday said Iraqis and Afghans who risked their lives to work for Americans deserve a chance to begin again in the United States.

Shaheen was joined by Michael Breen, a former U.S. Army officer who said many of those who served as interpreters for soldiers in those two countries are waiting for the government to make good on their promise to give them special U.S. visas.

Breen, a New Hampshire native, is the co-founder of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, which works to resettle Iraqis in the United States.

Shaheen, D-N.H., along with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has worked to continue and expand the programs that allow translators to enter the United States.

Breen called Shaheen "literally a lifesaver" in working to stop the expiration of the Iraqi program during the government shutdown this past fall. She and McCain pressed the Senate to act on a three-month extension, and the House approved the same bill.

According to Shaheen, although the war in Iraq has ended, there are scores of Iraqis waiting to be resettled under the 5-year-old program. She said it was unclear whether the program could be restarted without beginning from scratch if the program had ended.

The Afghan interpreters face a different set of challenges. According to Breen, many of them live on American military bases to protect them from insurgent groups. As the United States pulls out of Afghanistan and the bases close, their future is uncertain.

There is also a backlog of Afghani interpreters waiting for admittance. According to published reports, as of last year, only 1,000 visas had been issued, and 8,500 are available.

"These are people who put their lives at risk, and we want to make sure they are able to come to the United States," Shaheen said. "It's a promise we've made to them, and we need to stand by our promise."

Breen, a former captain in the Army who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, said interpreters make "a lifesaving difference" in the lives of soldiers.

He said that "not a ton of people in public policy" work on this issue, and Shaheen is one of the few. "I'm grateful my senator is keeping her promise to these brave people," he said.

He recounted the story of a 19-year-old interpreter with whom he worked in Iraq in 2004. On her way home from work one day, her car was riddled with bullets and she was killed.

"If anyone deserves starting their lives over again, it's people like Wissam," he said. "You'll never find people more patriotic."

Asked why she became involved in championing this issue, Shaheen said, "For me, it's not just about the lives that are at risk. It's also about American credibility. ... How can you say, 'If you help us, we will help you,'" and then fail to follow through on the agreement?

She said she carries images in her mind of the South Vietnamese who clung to departing helicopters at the American embassy at the end of the war in Vietnam.